Paige and Matt broke up about a week ago and I can't help but notice that she's terribly lonely. After the whole College Fair fiasco, I had actually gotten closer to Paige, forgiving her for telling me that I had no future. Hell, Paige was right anyway, as usual, and when I told her this, she simply told me that she would be right there with me. I can't help but feel that I ruined her future after high school, just to spend one day having the time of our lives, it turned out. But now, after all the fun and excitement has died down, she can't hide the fact that she is miserable. Not to me anyway. She sulked over to me during one of our unbearably long shifts at the theater, and leaned against the counter next to me. She let out a long, exasperated sigh and said,
"How much longer 'till we're off shift? I think I'm gonna die of boredom."
"Tell me about it. Another half hour and we're free, though," I say trying to console her, but to no avail. Tonight she's seems extra stubborn.
"Ugh!" she groaned. "Can't we just leave?" she asked me pleadingly, while I sit there and laugh at her antics. "I mean, come on, not one person has been by here in hours, surely thirty minutes wouldn't hurt..." she trailed off, taking a chocolate bar from the counter and sitting down with a sigh.
I smiled as I watched her. She never failed to entertain me, this girl. As she chowed down on her chocolate, I asked,
"Why? Does Princess Paige have big plans for the weekend as usual?"
She scowled at me for a second, but it quickly changed to a grin as she said,
"Yeah right. Hey...you know what?" she asked, her face lighting up. "We should go out this weekend."
"Are you serious?" I snort, though I'm stunned that she would want to hang out with me outside of work and school, so I venture on, "What would we do? Go to the movie theater?" I say sarcastically, gesturing around us.
Paige stood up looking excited. "You know, that's not a bad idea," She said, walking into the back to change out of her uniform. I follow her and start changing also, while she continues, "I mean, we wouldn't go to this one. I'm pretty sure we see it enough as it is." We finished changing and sit there for a while, talking. By now I'm not really listening though, I'm too wrapped up in thoughts of spending the weekend with Paige, so when I hear her say,
"Okay, so we'll meet back here at 8:00 and go see a movie. Sound good?" I'm immediately snapped out of my trance and quickly agree. Paige is smiling as we walk out of the mall together, which makes me feel good just knowing that she's finally happy again. We both head home for a few hours before we have to meet back here for our "date".
At exactly 8:00, Paige shows up and sits at a table outside the mall, enjoying the sunset. I had been here for a few minutes ans she didn't see me when she arrived, so I just stayed put for a while, watching her gaze dreamily at the gorgeous sunset, before sneaking up behind her and putting my hands over her eyes. She jumped at first, but then relaxed.
"Guess who?" I asked, trying not to give it away even though I could tell she already knew it was me. Being the good sport that she sometimes is though, Paige played along.
"Hmm...," she teased. "Brad Pitt?" she said finally, trying hard to be serious.
"Not quite," I say, walking around in front of her and putting out my hands, grinning. "Someone way hotter." We laugh and she takes my hands, smiling sweetly at me as I pull her up. As she puts her arm around and we walk to a nearby theater, I can't help but feel butterflies threatening to overtake my stomach. This had been happening quite often lately, and I knew exactly why, but wasn't ready to admit it just yet. So I pushed those feelings back, and walked arm in arm with her, talking about absolutely nothing, yet having a great time.
When we get to the movie theater, she asks me which movie we should watch. I suggest the scariest one available, though I doubt she knows why. She agrees though, and I think I see a trace of understanding flash across her gorgeous eyes before we enter the darkness of the theater. Throughout the entire movie we clung to each other, actually holding hands through most of it. It was a lot scarier than I had expected, and I soon found myself screaming right along with her at some parts. For some reason, she starts laughing as we leave the theater, and I'm puzzled, so I ask,
"What's so funny?" When she looks at me and continues to laugh, I push her lightly and ask again, this time getting an answer.
"I'm sorry," she says, still laughing quietly. "I've just never heard you scream before. It was cute, I have to admit, but it was even more funny. Sorry."
My butterflies come back when she says my screaming was cute, and this time I don't push them away. Instead, I let them take control, causing me to say,
"I can't help it. I was scared," I say as we approach her house. She laughs and says jokingly,
"Right. You were scared. For some reason, I just don't believe it." As we reach her steps she turns and looks me straight in the eyes, and I'm immediately pulled into the depths of those oceans. Still looking into her eyes, I hear the words tumble out uncontrollably,
"I was scared...but not because of the movie." Her eyes are piercing right through me, but they suddenly grow soft at those last words.
"Well, then...what were you scared of?" she asks, her face pleading for an answer. I'm amazed at how innocent she looks right now, and as I move closer, I can tell she knows the answer already, but is afraid to say it aloud. So I say it for her,
"I think you know," I whispered, and before I know it, I'm pulling her toward me and kissing her softly. I almost expect her to pull away, but she doesn't. She simply kisses me back. Her lips are amazing and I don't want to let go, but I pull back and look at her, searching her eyes for an explination now. She smiles at me instead, pulls me close and whispers in my ear, her lips brushing my skin lightly, sending chills throughout my entire body despite the heat surging between us.
"I do know."
